Commemorative Series No. 3 · The Fine Print
OUTSPENTNo. 13/74
Arlen
Specter
U.S. Senate · R-PA
Taken from the card industry
$118,350
S.256 · the bankruptcy bill · 2005tap to flip ⤺
WHO THEY WORK FORNo. 13/74
Credit Cards$104,500
Card-Issuing Banks$13,850
Made it harder to clear credit-card debt in bankruptcy. Filings got ~38% costlier; insolvency didn't fall. · 109-1-44OUTSPENT
Card 13 of 74 · tap the card to see who they work for
Beyond the check
The check is only the part you can see.
They took
$118,350
The industry spent on the bill
$100M+
on an eight-year industry push to pass the bankruptcy bill
Through the leadership PAC
Beyond the campaign account, a leadership PAC under Specter's control (Big Tent PAC) took $61,000 from banks, card lenders, drug makers and insurers.
Source: FEC; Big Tent PAC
The industry figure is lobbying spent on the bill, not a payment to this senator. Source: contemporary reporting (NBER; PBS Frontline). Everything here is documented public record; nothing alleges an illegal act.
Don't recognize a logo? Here's the key.
Credit Cards$104,500
MBNA$104,000
Capital One$500
Card-Issuing Banks$13,850
Citigroup$4,800
Bank of America$4,650
Am. Bankers Assn.$2,500
Wells Fargo$1,900